Elected Council and its role in the formation of a centralized state

After the reign of Vasily Shuisky , the question arose of strengthening the united Russian state. It was necessary for this to take several decisive actions - to end decentralization, to form a nationwide apparatus and expand the country's territory to the end. Basil III laid the foundation for this process, and his son Ivan, who was only three years old at the time of his father's death, had to solve the problems.

In 1546 the future Ivan IV reached the age of fifteen (at this age the age of majority came), and the power from the mother was completely transferred to him. In 1547 he took the title of king. The wedding took place in the Assumption Cathedral. In the same year, there was a series of fires and a popular uprising, which proved that there is a confrontation between the boyars and the people in society. Ivan IV began an intensified struggle against boyar power, bringing people closer to him from other classes. The circle of associates was named "Elected Rada", which included such persons as Andrei Kurbsky, Metropolitan Makarii and Protopop Sylvester, Alexei Adashev. They carried out the following reforms, which glorified the reign of Ivan:

1. In 1550 the so-called Code of Law was published, a code of laws, which strengthened the tsarist power.

2. In the army appeared Streletskoye army.

3. The system of finance was reformed.

4. The local and central administration abolished the feeding and introduced a system of orders.

5. The church was reformed.

Changes led to the fact that in a short time in the state the authority of authority has significantly increased. The elected Council and its system of government proved to be the most effective. All decisions taken in the 50s of that century were aimed at centralizing the power of the tsar. Despite the fact that the elected parliament and its reforms had a positive effect on the state and strengthened the tsarist power, in 1560 it was dissolved. There were several reasons for this. The tsar ceased to trust his close people, especially when he suspected treason after the escape to Poland of Andrei Kurbsky. Differences in views in foreign and domestic politics also arose.

In 1565, Ivan IV established a new sovereign destiny - oprichnina, which included economically developed territories. Here the king formed his government organs - the Duma, the court, orders, as well as the oprichnina army, which later turned into an instrument of political terror. The elected Rada and oprichnina were endowed with punitive functions, but if the first punished only the boyars, the oprichnina had power over all estates. As a result of the rule of the oprichnina, the despotic regime of Ivan IV's power was established in the state. In these severe years, the king received the nickname "Terrible".

However, the reign of terror turned out to be less effective than the Elected Rada and its policy. As a result, the tsar abolished the oprichnina in 1572. After that, the country experienced the political and economic crises of the 70s-80s. In addition, there was a ruin of the peasant farms, which were the basis of the country's economy - they were focused on the Elected Rada. Oprichnina largely caused the general crisis of power and the coming troubled time.